We're All Infected
by emtyler01
Summary: "A crowbar?" he said almost mockingly. "Yeah? What about it?" she asked rather defensively. "Nothin', nothin'. Just an unusual weapon." he replied. She let out a breathy chuckle before saying, "Well look around buddy, it's an unusual world." Eventual Daryl/OC. Rating may later change.


Hi guys, thanks for even taking the time to read this. I've had the idea for a while now and I thought I'd try it out and see if people actually liked it. If anyone has any constructive critisism then that would be awesome because I want people to enjoy this story so if you guys have any ideas on how to do that it would be much appreciated. I would like to ask for no flames please.

This chapter is basically the prologue so the next chapter will start of from the series. I am planning on starting off from season two when the group arrives at Herschel's farm. This will eventually morph into a Daryl/OC story. I don't want to really throw the romance in immediately, instead having it slowly take form over season two and probably part of season three.

Sorry for the long Author's Note but I thought I should just get that out. And my last thing is to please review and give me your opinions. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own AMC's The Walking Dead.

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><p>Every single person in the entire compound was scared. And why wouldn't they be? As far as anyone could tell, this virus or disease or whatever the hell you wanted to call it, it couldn't be cured. At least not without years of researching and lab work. Years they didn't have.<p>

They had tried, they had honestly tried to find a cure when the virus started. More than less people had hoped that the world could be saved. But as the days grew longer and more people fell victim to the virus, hope was not a luxury people still attained.

As the days went by, instead of working on a cure people panicked and tried to leave. Many had "opted out", you could say. The number of scientists in the compound had diminished by at least one third since the virus first showed. Only a few held hope of ever finding a permanent solution to what they hoped was a temporary problem.

However panicked people had become, they had still attempted to help. For weeks they had been locked inside of the compound, searching for a cure. Until one day...

People scrambled about the compound, shouting and screaming. All research had been long abandoned in lieu of getting out. Connection with the outside world had been cut, along with the hope of a cure. Nearly every scientist in the compound was gathering their belongings to exit the building. While every person was dashing to the doors of the compound one person was fighting through the crowd, running in the opposite direction.

This person in particular was a woman standing a little shorter then the average height. She had long since abandoned her white lab coat leaving her in only a cream colored blouse and black pants. Her dark brown hair that she had been so careful to pin into a bun had escaped from its confinements, dark locks streaming down her back. Her brown eyes were wide with fear and surprise as she dashed through the crowd.

"Dr. Jenner!" she shouted above the screams of other people. Her head whipped around, effectively sending her hair flying over her shoulders, as she searched for the man whom the name belonged. "Dr. Jenner!"

The brown haired girl seemed to have heard the man she was calling for she took off in a new direction. Eventually, a man's shout could be heard.

"Sawyer!"

Running off towards the shout, the brown haired girl nearly ran full force into a man. The man had short blonde hair and a bit of stubble on his jaw. He was still adorned in his white lab coat and had a look on his face that could not be defined.

"Sawyer," his voice held an air of fear. "You have to go, find your family, head for Atlanta." As he spoke he shook his head as an expression of fear overcame his face.

"But," the girl, now identified as Sawyer, breathlessly protested. "What about you? You can't stay all by yourself." Her face was full of disbelief at Dr. Jenner's instructions. The shouts and screams of her colleagues had dwindled as people abondoned the government facility.

"I have to stay," Dr. Jenner began. "I owe it to her to find a cure. I'll honor her memory by doing everything I can." Sawyer's face slightly fell at the mention of the deceased woman. Averting her eyes away from the older scientist, she let out a sigh of defeat.

"Are you sure?" she tentatively asked. "I can stay too, help you find a cure."

Even as she spoke the words, Dr. Jenner was shaking his head.

"No, I will not allow you to stay on my behalf. Go and find your family." He told the brunette.

As he spoke he reached into his back pocket and withdrew a Glock 17, 9mm pistol and shoved it into her hands.

"Dr. Jenner..." she trailed off, looking at the gun in surprise.

"You know how to use it Sawyer, don't be afraid." Dr. Jenner smiled. "I know you and I know you can survive this. You're resourceful and smart, much better then any other 26 year old I know."

His confidence of her seemed to raise her self esteem and give her confidence. Nodding her head to the older scientist she replied, "Thank you for everything, Sir. I wouldn't have had the chance to have been here if it weren't for you." She tucked the pistol into her waistband. "Good luck."

But before she could get any farther, Dr. Jenner grabbed her wrist, a grave look in his eyes. Before she could say anything, his lips parted and spoke the fatal words, "We're all infected."

Sawyer gave him one last glance before turning and dashing towards her room. Dr. Jenner's words replayed over and over in her mind.

We're all infected.

As she turned the corner of the hallway, her brown eyes caught sight of items strewn about the floor and the dire warning left her mind. Turning one more corner, the dark haired woman reached room number 15 before turning the doorknob.

As soon as she passed the threshold, the 26 year old dashed over to her wardrobe. Reaching behind the wardrobe, she lugged out a black duffel bag that was nearly ripping at the seams with the amount of clothes it was carting. Like Sawyer, many of the scientists had been packed for weeks, preparing to leave if they needed to.

Grunting in effort, Sawyer swung the bag over her shoulder. Standing completely up, the small framed woman made her way over to the nightstand before grabbing a framed picture. Having all of her possessions on her person, the brunette made her way out into the hallway as quickly as she could trying not to trip over anything.

When she reached the lobby, everyone had left. She was the only person still here. Well actually, the more apt description was that she was the only alive person still here.

Bodies were strewn about the floor. The tile was stained red with blood. Sawyer's brown irises widened in horror, wondering who would've done this to her colleagues. And then she saw it. They dead people clutching pistols in their fists. Realization dawned on her as she realized that they had done this to themselves. They had 'opted out', as Dr. Jenner would have put it.

Grimacing, the brunette carefully stepped over the corpes, careful to not trip. When she finally reached the doors, she spent no time pushing them open before running as fast as the weight she was carrying would allow her.

She let her eyes wander over the hot cement. Her gaze caught at seeing one of the infected. It's face was half melted onto the hot pavement as it moaned and groaned, longing to rip and devour the flesh from her body. More of the infected were huddled over by something. Taking one step closer, Sawyer caught sight of a hand peeking out from the group of the infected. Her eyes widened in realization as she realized it was one of her former colleagues. Taking a step back, Sawyer turned and dashed to her car as the horde of infected were busy devouring their meal.

The brunette made her way over to her own two door jeep, the detriment of having lived on farm she supposed, and she opened the passenger door. Tossing her bag into the passenger seat after retrieving her keys from one of the pockets, and with the picture frame still in hand, Sawyer shut the door and moved over to the drivers seat. She turned her keys as she climbed into the jeep. By now, a few of the infected had taken notice of her leave and had begun meandering over to her car.

As soon as the car started, she pressed the gas pedal and drove out of the parking lot and onto the road. She avoided the infected whenever they wandered onto the road and kept a steady eye on the road.

After Sawyer had put at least 30 minutes behind her and the facility she looked down at the picture. Turning it over to face her, a smile turned up the corner of her mouth.

The picture showed a family. On the far right was a blond haired girl, a smile lighting her face. Next to her stood a white haired man who wasn't smiling, but his eyes displayed his happiness. Beside the old man was an older lady with her arm around the man and next to her was a teenage boy who appeared to be laughing. There were two people sitting at the base of the picture, both women. The one on the right had brown hair that fell to her shoulders along with a look of mirth. The last person was a younger version of herself, a grin lighting her face.

Now smiling, Sawyer's eyes averted to the top of the photo. The words were written in black pen in neat cursive along with a date.

The Greenes, 2004

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><p>Please review!<p> 


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